TAKING A STAND: Companies have a responsibility to take a public stance on topics such as gender inequality, Kering chairman and chief executive officer François-Henri Pinault told the annual Women’s Forum meeting in Paris on Wednesday.
The luxury boss credited his wife, Mexican actress Salma Hayek, for sensitizing him to the issue of violence against women by introducing him to playwright Eve Ensler, the author of “The Vagina Monologues,” at the beginning of their relationship.
The couple have been vocal champions of women’s issues through their work with the Kering Foundation, which aims to combat violence against women, and the Women in Motion initiative, a precursor of the #MeToo movement. Launched in Cannes in 2015, the program hopes to shed light on women’s contribution to film.
“Companies in the 21st century, we need to have a sense of purpose that goes much beyond our business goals as part of the strategy of the company, as part of the culture of the company, and we shouldn’t be afraid as companies, as leaders, to take bold public positions on certain very important societal topics,” Pinault told presenter Star Jones at the forum.
The luxury boss credited his wife, Mexican actress Salma Hayek, for sensitizing him to the issue of violence against women by introducing him to playwright Eve Ensler, the author of “The Vagina Monologues,” at the beginning of their relationship.
The couple have been vocal champions of women’s issues through their work with the Kering Foundation, which aims to combat violence against women, and the Women in Motion initiative, a precursor of the #MeToo movement. Launched in Cannes in 2015, the program hopes to shed light on women’s contribution to film.
“Companies in the 21st century, we need to have a sense of purpose that goes much beyond our business goals as part of the strategy of the company, as part of the culture of the company, and we shouldn’t be afraid as companies, as leaders, to take bold public positions on certain very important societal topics,” Pinault told presenter Star Jones at the forum.
Francois-Henri Pinault and Salma Hayek
Stephane Feugere/WWD
For example, he noted that Gucci recently took a position